Journal of Building Engineering 10 (2017) 89–101

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Building Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jobe

Factors for effective BIM governance MARK

a,b,⁎ a a
Eissa Alreshidi , Monjur Mourshed , Yacine Rezgui
a
School of Engineering, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
b
School of Computer Science, Hail University, Hail, Saudi Arabia

A R T I C L E I N F O A BS T RAC T

Keywords: With increasing complexity of construction projects, a collaborative environment becomes essential to ensure
Building Information Modelling (BIM) effective communication during the project lifecycle. Conventional team collaboration raises issues such as the
BIM adoption lack of trust; uncertainties regarding ownership and Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs); miscommunication;
BIM governance and cultural differences, among others. Additional issues can arise in relation to the generated data, including
Data governance
data loss, data inconsistency, errors, and liability for wrong or incomplete data. Furthermore, There is a
G-BIM
shortage of studies that investigate collaboration practices, data management, and governance issues from a
Cloud computing
socio-technical perspective. This study investigates the development of a BIM governance framework (G-BIM)
with support of Cloud technologies, identifying effectiveness factors that guarantee successful collaboration.
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with informed BIM experts in the UK, with the aim of: (i)
discovering current trends in Information Communication Technologies (ICT) and team collaboration during
construction projects; (ii) exploring barriers to BIM adoption; (iii) exploring the role of BIM-related standards;
(iv) consulting BIM experts to develop a Cloud-based BIM governance solution to tackle team collaboration on
BIM-based projects; and (v) investigating the role of Cloud in supporting BIM governance research and
development. The findings reveal several BIM adoption barriers and issues directly influencing team
collaboration. The key findings led to the development of a BIM governance framework (G-BIM). The purpose
of the G-BIM framework is to present and summarise effective factors resulting in successful governance and a
collaborative BIM approach, to support the future development of a Cloud-based BIM governance platform. The
G-BIM framework comprises three main components: (i) actors and team, (ii) data management and ICT, and
(iii) processes and contracts. Furthermore, the study reveals the high potential of Cloud technologies to advance
current BIM governance solutions, because of its performance capabilities, accessibility, storage, and scalability.

1. Introduction the adoption of BIM by the construction industry [4]. According to

Team collaboration during construction projects is becoming
increasingly complicated, and new technologies such as BIM tools,
processes and approaches have contributed to this. Team collaboration
on conventional construction projects raises issues, including trust,
ownership and Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) concerns, miscom-
munication, and cultural differences, among others. Moreover, addi-
tional issues can arise in relation to the generated data, including data
loss, data inconsistency, errors, and liability for wrong or incomplete
data [1–3]. Typically, the adoption of a collaborative BIM approach
complicates these issues further.
Recognising the importance of adopting a collaborative BIM
approach, the UK government established 2016 as the target date for
BIMTaskGroup [4], there are four levels of BIM maturity. Currently,
the majority of construction firms are striving to reach BIM adoption at
Level 2,1 while a minority of internationally leading engineering and
construction organisations have started embracing some aspects of
Level 3, such as shared model-based information delivery across the
supply chain and lifecycle; this means it is possible to manage the data
of all parties using 3D CAD models, but not necessarily to collaborate
using a single, shared model. However, BIM adoption at Level 32 is
more complex. To alleviate this complexity, a BIM governance model
with a Cloud infrastructure offers a potential solution to facilitate team
collaboration across the supply-chain during a building's lifecycle [5,6].
To date, several researchers have sought to develop collaborative
BIM frameworks and solutions [7–9]. However, these efforts lack

⁎
Corresponding author at: School of Computer Science, Hail University, Hail, Saudi Arabia
E-mail addresses: alreshidi.eissa@gmail.com, e.alreshidi@uoh.edu.sa (E. Alreshidi), MourshedM@cardiff.ac.uk (M. Mourshed), RezguiY@cf.ac.uk (Y. Rezgui).
1
In Level 2 BIM, Building data is managed in a 3D Environment, separate from the attached data. The data integration is then based on property or interfaces; e.g. as detailed in cloud
middleware as "iBIM".
2
In Level 3 BIM, all team members work from the same source of information (BIM Model).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2017.02.006
Received 21 July 2016; Received in revised form 20 February 2017; Accepted 21 February 2017
Available online 01 March 2017
2352-7102/ © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
E. Alreshidi et al.
detailed investigation of BIM governance and related characteristics.
Yet, there is lack of theoretical framework for BIM governance.
Therefore, this study aims to investigate the case for developing a
BIM governance framework by: (i) exploring current ICT and colla-
borative practices among construction team members; (ii) discovering
the barriers to BIM adoption in the construction industry; (iii) high-
lighting common collaboration problems in BIM-based projects; (iv)
identifying factors that support development of a BIM governance
model; and (v) exploring the potential role of Cloud in underpinning
that model. More importantly, this study seeks to establish a BIM
governance framework (G-BIM).
Subsequent sections provide a literature review of related work on
BIM collaboration research and BIM adoption barriers; present the
research methodology, explaining the interview design; and, highlight
and discuss the most significant findings from the interviews. Finally, a
G-BIM is presented, followed by concluding remarks, and details of
planned future work.
2. Related studies
This section reviews current studies concerning barriers to BIM
adoption, BIM-based collaboration solutions, BIM governance, and
Cloud computing.
2.1. BIM adoption barriers
The construction industry is moving towards BIM adoption,
recognising its many advantages, such as better modelling and design
features, enhanced 3D rendering, and facilitation of team collaboration
through a common model [10–13]. The slow adoption to date has
inspired researchers worldwide to investigate existing barriers [14–
17]; these barriers include: technical problems (compatibility and
reliability), fragmentation of the project team, resistance to change,
lack of training, and business process related issues [16]. Non-technical
barriers concern people, culture, and processes [5,14,18]. The legal,
contractual and organisational implications of BIM can also be
problematic [9,10,19]. Although it is agreed that technical and socio-
organisational changes should accord with BIM development [20],
there is no general agreement about ownership and Intellectual
Property Rights (IPRs) over BIM models, nor any clear roles and
responsibilities for maintaining BIM models over a project's lifecycle
[15,21,22].
2.2. BIM collaboration
Collaboration involves co-workers sharing information and pro-
cesses by interacting, communicating, exchanging, coordinating and
approving [23,24]. BIM offers stakeholder collaboration at different
stages of a building's lifecycle, enabling stakeholders to insert, extract,
update, or modify information during the BIM process. Thus, BIM is
emerging as a new way to manage information flow between stake-
holders during a project [25]. However, in the construction industry,
projects are handled in a collaborative environment across multiple
disciplines and multiple actors, thereby raising trust issues, and
generating a lack of clarity regarding roles and responsibilities,
interoperability, etc [5,26].
Despite many researchers and practitioners maintaining colla-
borative work environments, challenges have impeded the develop-
ment of a fully integrated multi-disciplinary collaborative mode of
operation, or tool, to facilitate the adoption of BIM [18,27]. Thus far,
the development and deployment of integrative and collaborative
technologies in the construction industry lags behind other industries
[28]. Successful technology implementation requires the establish-
ment of a tool to manage both electronic and manual operational
procedures [23].
The gradual introduction of web-based technologies to construction
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Journal of Building Engineering 10 (2017) 89–101
project management has resulted in the integration of contractual,
organisational and informational aspects. However, it is a challenge to
encourage collaboration between geographically dispersed teams;
especially where different practitioners represent different organisa-
tions, and where construction projects are large [23]. Collaboration
technologies represent a shift toward virtual organisations, in which
workers have the flexibility to work from any location, and computing
technology makes it possible to communicate richer and more complex
data [23]. Although, the technical requirements for developing colla-
borative BIM servers have been identified by Singh, Gu [27], this study
aims to also explore functional and non-functional requirements that
fall within the categories of socio-organisational, process, and legal
requirements.
Developments in commercial BIM servers can resolve some colla-
boration issues, and options include the Onuma system [29],
RevitServer [30], ProjectWise [31], Graphisoft BIM Server [32] and,
more recently, Autodesk BIM 360 [33], alongside open-source solu-
tions such as BIMServer [34], and EDMmodelServer [35]. However,
BIM servers tend to be owned by their developers, utilise proprietary
management data structures, and rely on central or local servers for
data management and storage [5,36].
2.3. BIM governance
This study aims to unite the experiences of construction practi-
tioners with previous research and findings, to provide information to
support the development of a Cloud-based BIM governance solution.
Until recently, BIM governance has not been investigated in explicit
detail in construction projects. Existing IT and ICT governance frame-
works, e.g [37–39]. were not initially developed to meet construction
industry needs. Data governance frameworks tend to focus on data-
related aspects, although data governance refers to the overall manage-
ment of the availability, integrity, and security, of the data used within
an enterprise [40]. Newman and Logan [41] define data governance as,
“the collection of decision rights, processes, standards, policies and
technologies required to manage, maintain and exploit information as
an enterprise resource”.
Rezgui, Beach [5], state that BIM governance is “the process of
establishing a project information management policy across lifecycle
and supply chain underpinned by a building information model, taking
into account stakeholders’ rights and responsibility over project data
and information”. It is essential to differentiate between governance
and management. Governance determines who makes decisions and
how, whereas management implements decisions [41]. Almost all
organisations that face challenges managing information, can benefit
from a governance approach [42]. There is a known lack of overall
governance within current construction projects; hence, there is a need
to develop a generic data governance model to facilitate BIM adoption
in a collaborative built-in environment across multi-disciplines and
multi-actors throughout the building's lifecycle [5].
There are several requirements for overcoming limitations to
BIM adoption and team collaboration from a governance stand-
point: (i) protocol development, (ii) establishment of responsibil-
ities across disciplines, (ii) sharing a common model that can be
stored centrally or hosted by distributed environments, and (d)
improved interdisciplinary communication. In addition, to raise
awareness, intensive training should be introduced, and an ex-
planation given of stakeholders’ formal responsibilities, across
disciplines and at different stages of the building lifecycle [5,43–
45]. Here, several aspects need to be taken into account in the
development of a Cloud-based BIM governance solution: BIM data
management processes, the project's lifecycle, supply-chain com-
plexity, BIM, team members’ rights and responsibilities, policies
and standards, and the underpinning technology.
E. Alreshidi et al.
2.4. Cloud efforts in BIM
Cloud computing technologies have recently gained in popularity
[46–48]. Due to the advantages that Cloud technology offers, many
researchers in the construction field have considered Cloud computing
as a solution to underpin future BIM technologies [49–52]. However,
apart from [5,36], these research efforts have not targeted BIM
governance directly. Hence, this study aims to investigate advantages
and disadvantages of utilising Cloud technologies in BIM governance.
In general, Stadtmueller [53] identifies 5 main advantages for an
enterprise when adopting Cloud: (i) reduced investment in hardware,
(ii) scalability, (iii) reduced time when launching new applications, (iv)
quality, and (v) continual upgrade. However, a number of case studies
reveal the benefits of using Cloud technology in BIM [54]. The current
trend in the construction industry is to efficiently integrate and manage
building information using BIM with Cloud [55]. In this context, Cloud
offers a number of general benefits such as accessibility [36,52],
scalability [56], Reliability [57], Advance Interoperability for BIM
applications [52] data security [48,58,59], real-time backup [60] Cost
[61], and Green credentials [62].
Despite the fact that the Cloud has many benefits, potential draw-
backs exist. According to Armbrust, Fox [48] these drawbacks are: (a)
security concerns, (a) performance guarantee, (b) anonymous control,
(c) cusiness continuity and service availability, (d) data Lock-in, (e)
data confidentiality and auditability, (f) data transfer bottlenecks, (g)
performance unpredictability, (h) bugs in large distributed systems, (j)
speed of scaling, (k) reputation fate sharing, and (l) software licensing.
However, major concerns relate to the use of Cloud in BIM; Redmond,
Hore [52] raised three issues: security, privacy, and dependency on
Internet connection. Data ownership and control are commonly raised
as obstacles when considering Cloud storage, as it remains unclear who
owns the data hosted by a Cloud Service Provider (CSP) [63,64].
3. Methodology
The collaboration process of construction teams differ from other
disciplines [65]. There is a shortage of studies that investigate
collaboration practices, data management, and governance issues from
a socio-technical perspective. This forms the gap addressed by the
present paper to identify factors for successful BIM governance using
an appropriate method such as questionnaire and formal interviews.
Therefore, the main aim of this research paper is to develop a
theoretical BIM governance framework based on identified factors.
This study is considered exploratory research, hence a mixed method
approach using a comprehensive questionnaire and semi-structured
interviews is adopted. Semi-structured interview is a qualitative
method of inquiry that combines a pre-determined set of open
questions with the opportunity for the interviewer to explore particular
themes or responses further [66]. Semi-structured interviews are
chosen in particular for the following reasons: (a) there are not enough
resources with respect to BIM governance solution; (b) the required
information and knowledge are exists with the BIM experts; (c) the
researcher is willing to change the questions order depending on the
flow of the conversation, it is possible to ask additional questions if
BIM expert brings up issues that have no prepared questions for; (d)
allow the BIM experts to speak in more details on the issues that the
researcher raises as well as introduce new issues that are relevant to the
research theme [66].
The outcome of the comprehensive questionnaire were reported in
Alreshidi, Mourshed [6]. However, the outcome of semi-structured
interviews that helped in developing a BIM governance framework (G-
BIM) forms the main focus in this paper. The preparation of semi-
structured interview is done based on steps reported by Oates [66].
This is done by conducting a literature review exploring: (a) the current
situation of BIM adoption, (b) ICT and collaboration practices, and (c)
data management practices in construction projects. Consequently, this
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Journal of Building Engineering 10 (2017) 89–101
study is underpinned by the following research questions:
RQ1. What are the current BIM adoption barriers, ICT and
collaboration practices; and what issues arise during the collabora-
tion process?
RQ2. Do existing BIM-related standards promote collaboration and
BIM integration?
RQ3. What potential factors could lead to effective BIM governance?
RQ4. What is the Cloud's potential role in a BIM governance
solution?
This leads to the development of an interview guide (Appendix A).
The interviews was designed to target BIM experts, including BIM
academics, BIM practitioners and BIM technicians. The expert panel
were chosen based on the following criteria: willingness to participate,
background and experiences in the construction industry (specifically
with BIM), and their tangible efforts using BIM (e.g. BIM-based
projects and BIM publications). The semi-structured interview was
conducted based on the interview guide with several BIM experts from
different disciplines and backgrounds. The BIM experts were inter-
viewed according to individual preference, using: face-to-face, and via
an online communication tool i.e. Skype. The interviews were held in
different locations in the UK including: London, Leeds, Birmingham,
Liverpool, Cardiff and Loughborough. Table 1 displays the BIM
experts’ backgrounds.
The interviews have been recorded using a reorder device for face-
to-face interviews and recording software Pamela [67] for Skype
interviews. A transcription of the recorded interview is done via
transcription services provider. Then the interview transcripts were
categorized according to common themes and analysed using a pattern
coding technique. These themes are categorized in an Analysis
Template (Appendix B). Each one of these themes is created in a
single file that holds all the answers from BIM experts of the same
theme. After that, all answers of each theme are grouped and discussed
together with other results. A table to summaries the results of each
category is then designed and filled in with the most significant result
of each theme.
4. Results
Since BIM governance is evolving as a way to facilitated control
over the fragmented components of construction projects, this study
sought to present a comprehensive model to assist construction
professionals. The findings were divided into categories as follows:
• Current BIM adoption barriers;
• Current ICT and collaboration tools and practices;
• Team collaboration issues;
• Role of BIM related standards;
• Factors linked to efficient BIM governance; and
• Prerequisites for a BIM governance solution.
The outcomes of aforementioned categories are discussed below, as
they guided the development of an effective G-BIM. The role of Cloud
technologies in BIM governance research and development is also
highlighted.
4.1. BIM adoption barriers
The findings from the consultation regarding BIM adoption barriers
endorsed the findings of previous research [5,68–71]. However, BIM
adoption barriers were expanded upon in this study, to include socio-
organisational, financial, contractual, technical, and legal barriers.
Table 2 summarises the most significant BIM adoption barriers.
E. Alreshidi et al. Journal of Building Engineering 10 (2017) 89–101

Table 1
BIM experts' demographic information.

No. BIM Expert Position Experience in construction/ Place of the interview Interview
BIM (years) method

BIM academics/researchers/ 1 Academic Professor of architectural design More than 40 Cardiff Face-to-face
clients 2 Academic Professor of sustainability, client, contractor More than 40 Cardiff Face-to-face
3 Academic BIM researcher More than 20 Loughborough Face-to-face
4 Academic BIM researcher More than 10 Loughborough Face-to-face
BIM professionals/construction 5 Practitioner Architect & CAD/BIM manager, consultant More than 15 Cardiff Face-to-face
practitioners 6 Practitioner BIM manager, structural engineer More than 17 Birmingham Face-to-face
7 Practitioner UKMEA BIM implementation manager More than 15 Leeds Face-to-face
8 Practitioner Structural technician, BIM co-ordinator More than 13 London Face-to-face
9 Practitioner Architect, BIM manager More than 8 London Face-to-face
10 Practitioner Building Physics/Environmental Engineer More than 22 Glasgow Skype
11 Practitioner Environmental design of buildings, building More than 10 London Skype
simulation & optimisation
12 Practitioner Civil engineer More than 10 Birmingham Skype
Technicians/IT managers/software 13 Technician Chartered engineer, software specialist More than 20 Leeds Face-to-face
developers 14 Technician Technical director More than 23 Liverpool Skype
15 Technician BIM developer, collaboration software More than 4 London Face-to-face
solution
16 Technician Technical manager More than 27 London Skype
17 Technician SaaS IT specialist More than 27 London Skype
18 Technician Projects’ document manager More than 7 Cardiff Face-to-face

4.2. ICT and collaboration practices during projects

Table 2
ICT has a long history of adoption and use in the construction
BIM adoption barriers.
industry. ICT has a positive impact on the possible adoption of BIM.
Theme/category Related barriers This section describes ICT and the collaborative practices adopted on
BIM-based projects.
Social-organisational • Resistance to change
• Lack of trust in and apprehension towards new
technology
4.2.1. ICT tools and practices
• Lack of BIM understanding Many practitioners continue to rely on email, e.g. Outlook and
• Variations in practitioners’ skills Gmail, as their main tools of communication [6]. They request advice
• Lack of BIM training via emails and using print screens showing errors in their BIM models.
• Lack of motivation
• Clients’ awareness
Most of the BIM experts interviewed reported this, one interviewee
• Adoption of traditional practices and standards stated: “we use email with written words and screenshots”. In
• Avoiding/hiding potential risks and liability for addition, they use Skype for face-to-face interaction with a remote
mistakes team, in order to clarify aspects of project design or BIM models. They
Financial • BIM adoption cost
• Personal Indemnity Insurance (PII) is not covered
also use communication tools built-in to the collaboration tools. Some
• BIM training cost
teams explore other options, such as SMS, Skype, Go-to-Meeting, and
• Limited budget other web tele-conferencing sessions.
• Expensive human-based services costs They also arrange regular face-to-face meetings to discuss project
Technical • Maturity of BIM-based technologies progress, and receive clear updates on goals and milestones to organise
• Interoperability issues
• Issues
tools
with existing BIM modelling and collaboration
and track their objectives. Nonetheless, there are problems recording
actions during informal communication processes or meetings. One
• Massive data inputs/outputs academic stated: “the best communication practice during a construc-
• Massive data and limited data storage tion project should be via project management environment e.g.
• Limited accessibility and access rights
• Lack
ProjectWise which contains: (a) built-in communication tools/chan-
of data sharing mechanisms
• Lack of data tracking, checking and versioning control
mechanisms
nels, (b) a good data structure so that it is easy to keep track of it, (c)
find who/when and why a decision is made”. This emphasises that a
• Difficulties coordinating large BIM models good collaborative BIM solution would include a well-structured data
• Lack of notification mechanisms governance framework and built-in communication tools to keep track
Contractual • Contractors benefit from confusion
• BIM contracts are not yet mature
of information.
• Lack of BIM-related aspects in current contracts
• Failure to address BIM legal concerns in current 4.2.2. Collaboration tools and practices
contracts Email is used for communication and for sharing BIM models.
• Contracts need to accommodate changes in BIM
collaborative environment
However, most companies use proprietary web-based collaboration
Legal • BIM models ownership: intellectual property and
copyright concerns
tools and Electronic Document Management systems (EDMs) to
manage the sharing of project data among team members, because of
• Liability for wrong or incomplete data reliability and technical support (e.g. Conject [72], ProjectWise [31],
• Lack of legal considerations in existing BIM contracts Asite [73], and Autodesk RevitServer [30]). However, teams combine
• Lack
BIM
of legal framework for adopting collaborative
the use of RevitServer with ProjectWise at the local level inside the
• PII does not cover legal aspects of collaborative work company, whereas at the global level the team might use more
advanced collaborative technologies, such as 4Project [74].
Although most web-based BIM collaborative tools enable access to

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E. Alreshidi et al. Journal of Building Engineering 10 (2017) 89–101

Table 3 Table 4
Collaboration issues on BIM-based projects. Factors informing efficient BIM governance.

Theme/category Drafted results Theme/category Factors

People • BIM maturity and understanding ICT factors • Adopt effective communication, collaboration,
• People's behaviour coordination practices
• Team trust • Use adequate communication, collaboration,
• Collaboration issues coordination tools
Process • Lack of agreed objectives for the use of BIM • Embed trust in BIM technologies
• No clear procedure for BIM • Use effective methods for sharing data
• Information delivery process related issues • Provide a Common Data Environment (CDE)
• Different team skills • Track information
• Sharing issues in collaborative process Socio-organisational • Client motivation
Data • Data ownership factors • Early client involvement
• Copyrights • Educate practitioners
• Intellectual Property (IP) • Provide technical training
• Interoperability • Bring all team members together as early as
• Big data volumes possible
• Data inconsistency • Strong leader who is capable of taking firm
• Data compatibility actions
• Data transportation • Dedicated BIM/information manager
• Data storage • Team engagement
• Data loss • Forward planning
• Shared goals and values
• Clear roles and responsibilities for each member
• Build strong trust links among team members
• Experience
stored data according to each actor's role, the process of defining roles
Practitioner factors
and responsibilities tends to be unclear and overseen by the organisa-
• Ability to use BIM tools
tion. In terms of BIM data storage practices, some practitioners use • Interpersonal relationships
personal hard drives to retain copies of their files/models, but the • Ability to accept criticism
majority use online-shared networked storage solutions due to the • Willingness to collaborate
• Willingness to share information
easy-to-use storage and access mechanisms provided. When adopting
• Relationship with the client
BIM as a collaborative approach, it is necessary to change management
• Solve problems as early as possible
and re-engineer the traditional collaboration process. “Educate people • Raise issues as soon as they emerge
more about BIM”; one practitioner stated, “having the tools is one BIM process factors • Clear BIM implementation process
• Clear and detailed collaboration plan
• Having
thing but knowing what to do with the tools is another thing”. ICT
methods for sharing information at the
technologies can facilitate communication between team members, but
right time
it is up to people to engage in effective collaboration.
• Setting
lifecycle
check points during the project's

4.3. Collaboration issues during BIM-based projects • Replacing the traditional delivery method with
more integrated methods
Financial and legal factors • Covering financial resources
BIM is still a new technology, and people have different under-
• Providing business motivation to practitioners
standings and interpretations of what it is. These differences create • Create business opportunities and possibilities
conflict in a BIM collaborative environment. Table 3 summarises issues • Create overall legal framework
• Clearly define actors’ roles and responsibilities
• Clarify data ownership and IPRs
that arise during team collaboration on BIM-based projects.

4.4. The role of BIM-related standards in promoting collaborative

BIM approach and development.

Existing BIM-related standards provide a good starting point for
developing a collaborative BIM approach. These are paper-based
standards (e.g. BS1192: 2007 and PAS 1192-1, 2 and 3), and
technical-data exchange standards (e.g. COBie and IFC). The question
posed to BIM experts concerned how far existing BIM-related stan-
dards promote BIM integration and collaboration. Most BIM experts
agreed that the standards promote BIM integration and collaboration.
However, it is acknowledged that the standards are only guidelines;
they do not necessarily facilitate the collaboration process.
Paper-based standards have the following limitations:
• They define collaboration processes in a form that is difficult to
integrate with technical solutions;
• Individuals tend not to use or adopt the standards unless forced to
do so by their managers to satisfy clients’ requirements;
• They offer advice not rules, and people often only implement rules;
• They lack aspects of governance;
• They were developed by large companies, not by SMEs;
• They reflect the desires, issues and concerns of specific groups
excluding others; and
• Standards and constantly evolving as a result of ongoing research
So far, technical-data exchange standards have partially solved
some of these limitations. For example, COBie offers a practical method
for sharing/exchanging BIM data. However, it is an Excel spreadsheet
requiring massive input from practitioners, imposing a heavy burden
on them in terms of cost and time. Furthermore, COBie datasets differ
from one country to another based on governmental policies and
requirements. An additional option is IFC, which handles interoper-
ability between BIM authoring packages. One expert suggested it may
become the de facto standard. However, IFCs still have limitations
because of the lack of widely-agreed semantic underpinnings, often
resulting in semantic data loss when transferring BIM models to IFC.
4.5. Factors for efficient BIM governance
Several success stories have been reported of BIM experts collabor-
ating effectively and efficiently. This section describes the factors
informing efficient BIM governance based on the consultation in
interviews (see Table 4).

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E. Alreshidi et al.
5. Prerequisites for BIM governance
The interviews revealed that there are, as yet, no formal BIM
governance or management policies. Many companies are developing
their own strategies and governance models, which are not shared with
others for reasons of competition. While, it is very rare to employ
complete supply-chain governance/management policies, the larger
construction companies have begun to develop their own methods of
team collaboration. In addition, most governance is determined on a
project-by-project basis, as the company tends to align its data
management with the client's requirements for the project. On the
other hand, practitioners categorised the existing BIM Execution Plan
(BEP) [75] and Responsibility Matrix [76] as BIM governance solu-
tions. However, the issue with these standards is that they are in
written format, read only by the practitioners with an interest in them
or those forced to read them by their managers. They are also difficult
to interpret and implement, and often out-dated—not particularly
suited for BIM adoption as a new collaborative approach.
These factors underline the need to develop a non-proprietary
BIM governance solution to facilitate team collaboration. Such a
model should make it easier for all participants to understand their
roles and responsibilities; thereby enabling each member involved
in the collaboration process to deliver appropriately. Any BIM
governance solution should reflect BIM experts’ requirements, and
the construction domain, as well as including a well-developed
legal framework underpinned by ICT technologies. Moreover, the
development of a BIM governance solution should incorporate the
views and opinions of all construction-related parties, and major
software vendors, facilitating team collaboration, and managing
access rights to the stored BIM data.
Fig. 1 shows the interrelation between the components of a BIM
governance solution. The prerequisite components of a BIM govern-
ance solution include awareness of:
i) Actors and team: people involved in projects;
ii) Data management and ICT: the technologies used during projects;
and
iii) Processes and contracts: the collaboration workflow underpinned
by legal frameworks.
Moreover, to successfully govern BIM, we must first focus on the
“actors” sub-component, within a construction project, and their
requirements, including those of the client. “Actors” work within a
collaborative “team” that produces data, through collaboration.
Multiple actors collaborating within a team produce data during the
Actors
&
Team
BIM
Governance
Processes
Data management
&
& feature (allowing actors to upload and download their documents
Contracts
ICT
Fig. 1. Prerequisite components of BIM governance.
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Journal of Building Engineering 10 (2017) 89–101
building lifecycle “process”. They utilise “ICT” to facilitate collaboration
during the BIM process, supported by “legal contracts and policies”
agreements and considerations.
5.1. Proposed BIM governance framework (G-BIM)
The results of our intensive consultation led to the development of a
G-BIM that presents and summarise the principal factors in successful
BIM governance, and supports the future development of Cloud-based
BIM governance solutions. The G-BIM comprises three main compo-
nents: “actors & team”, “data management & ICT”, and “processes &
contracts”, with sub factors for each.
5.1.1. First component: actors and team
• Actors: Roles and responsibilities are to be defined and clarified in
early meetings, prior to the commencement of the project. Defining
access rights over produced and stored data will minimise the risk of
unwanted errors. Knowing who is going to work on which model, as
well as when and how, are key factors for effectively governing the
BIM collaborative process. In addition, preserving actors’ ownership
and IPR is vital for an effective collaborative environment.
Moreover, increasing awareness of the importance of BIM govern-
ance will help motivate group work. Training is a crucial aspect of
the BIM governance process. Experienced leadership of the team is
also essential for motivating the project team towards producing
successful outcomes. There is a strong need to involve all team
members at the early design stages. The sub-components include:
actors’ trust, defining actors’ roles, defining actors’ responsibilities,
defining access rights, clarify ownership & IPRs, raise awareness
and provide relevant training.
• Team: Several factors need to be considered when working on a
BIM-based project. Team members should adopt and use effective
communication, collaboration and coordination practices and tools.
They should notify each other of changes as early as possible. Team
engagement is vital. The sub-factors include trust at the team level,
total team engagement, common goals, adopting and using effective
communication, and collaboration practices and tools, adopting and
using effective coordination practices and tools, leadership, and a
common data environment.
5.1.2. Second component: data management and ICT
• Data management practices: “Data” is the third sub-component
of the G-BIM. “Actors”, in collaboration with their “team”, generate
data in various forms during a construction project. Therefore, some
data need to be managed to govern the BIM process productively.
Data should be consistent, accurate, available, secured, and stored in
a remote and safe place. Data tracking mechanisms, and controlling
and managing different data versions, are also important. Governing
BIM data flow during a construction project can effectively minimise
data errors and inconsistency.
• ICT: The fourth sub-component (ICT) represents infrastructure,
supporting the BIM governance model. This component should
produce several factors in successful BIM governance process: high
performance IT infrastructure, scalable storage volumes, interoperable
environment, technical help and support, provision of security and
privacy services, management support for different file formats, instant
access to data according to each actor's access rights, allowing users to
customize their user's graphical interface, provision of and support for
online collaboration environments, provision of a clash detection
securely), and provision of servers with large storage volume capabil-
ities for hosting project data remotely. ICT technology plays a crucial
role in governing BIM, but its main role is to support and facilitate the
governance process during team collaboration.
E. Alreshidi et al. Journal of Building Engineering 10 (2017) 89–101

5.1.3. Third component: BIM Processes and contracts Table 5

Potential role of the cloud in BIM R & D.

• BIM Processes: “BIM Processes” are the fifth sub-component of

Advantages Disadvantages
the G-BIM. A clear and pre-agreed BIM process on a construction
project is crucial for goal fulfilment, and should be subject to easily • Data availability • Data security
followed standards and protocols. A clear, well-designed collabora- • Data accessibility • Cyber security
• Cost effectiveness • Network dependency
tive BIM process for team members is important, and critical to the
• Massive storage and backup • Initial set-up cost
development of a Cloud-based G-BIM. This dimension includes: a capabilities • Concerns about physical location of
clear BIM-based project lifecycle, a clear business process, clear and • Easy to use infrastructure
easy standards, easy-to-follow protocols, defined requirements for • Interoperable • Lack of legal assurances
• High computing capabilities • Control concerns
• Positive environmental effects • Physical
each individual stage of the building lifecycle, detailed processes for
data storage issues

•
sharing information, checking points during the project's lifecycle.
Contracts and legal policies: Contracts and legal considerations
form the sixth vital sub-component of a G-BIM. They cover overall
written agreements for agreed collaborative processes during a
project, and are underpinned by governmental rules and regula-
tions. Although the adoption of BIM relies heavily on ICT and socio-
organisational dimensions, legal contracts and policies are as
important as the other dimensions. Addressing legal and contractual
disputes is crucial for removing legal risks when working on
collaborative projects. Written forms should include: clients’ re-
quirements, early team agreement, overall legal framework for a
BIM-based project, collaboration requirements, and governmental
rules and regulations; they should enhance information trust, clarify
ownership, and address IPR concerns.
Moreover, financial aspects, including cost-effectiveness of BIM
adoption, reasonable training costs, feasible infrastructure cost, and
realistic software licence cost, should be strongly emphasised.
The effective BIM governance factors’ framework forms the con-
• Privacy concerns
• Negative environmental effects
• Ownership concerns
ceptual framework for effectively governing the BIM collaborative
process during team collaboration, establishing the groundwork for
future BIM governance research and development. Fig. 2 summarises
and illustrates the six major components of the proposed BIM
governance effective factors framework, including important factors
for each component.
6. Role of cloud in BIM governance R & D
Recently, many organisations, including construction companies,
have moved towards utilising Cloud services to host data, due to its
many benefits [63]. It provides an ideal environment for hosting
massive data files, such as those used in BIM governance models

BIM Governance framework

Socio-organizational Data Management & ICT Process and Contracts

Actors Team Data management ICT Process & standards Contracts & legal policies

Roles & responsibilities Trust Consistency Help & support Clear BIM-based project Early agreement
lifecycle
Access Rights Communication Version control Cypher security
Clear & easy-to-follow Address team collaboration
BIM standards requirement
Ownership Notification Correctness Privacy
Clear business process for Address BIM as client
IPR Collaboration Data tracking Instant access BIM implementation requirement

Awareness Coordination Availability Document management Easy-to-follow Continuously improve rules

collaboration protocols and regulations
Training Leadership Integrity Role-based access
Pre-defined requirements of Address ownership and IPR
each BIM stage related concerns
Common Goals Security UI Customization
Detailed process for Clarify accountability and
Engagement Online collaboration information sharing responsibility of each member

Common data Clash detection Provide checking points Risk management

environment during lifecycle
Remote secure server

Scalable storage

Secure upload & download

mechanisms

High performance IT
Infrastructure

Fig. 2. Framework of effective BIM governance factors (G-BIM).

95
E. Alreshidi et al.
[47]; the advantages and disadvantages of using Cloud as a solution are
listed in Table 5:
Our consultation also revealed several advantages to using Cloud as
BIM governance solution:
• Data availability and accessibility. Cloud renders the hosted
data available at all times in all places. Moreover, access to hosted
BIM data would be password-protected. Wherever there is an
Internet connection, there is immediate access to the stored data.
The Cloud allow users to share data with other users permitted to
access it.
• Cost-effectiveness. Cloud technologies can reduce the cost of a
construction company's infrastructure, which is particularly bene-
ficial for SMEs with limited resources and budgets. Working on the
“Software-as-a-Service” paradigm allows construction companies to
rent the services they need from the Cloud provider for short
periods, only paying for what they use. In addition, there is no
extra cost for software updates and IT infrastructure upgrades,
because the Cloud service provider oversees these.
• Scalable storage. Scalable storage spaces and robust backup
services are ideal when hosting large BIM models, overcoming the
limitations of physical hard drives. The amount of shared data
during a collaborative BIM process gradually increases; thus, a
flexible and scalable storage solution is desirable. Using the Cloud
provider's storage and backup services to host big data volume files
enables the user to retain sufficient local disk space.
• Powerful computing capabilities. Cloud can improve the
computing performance of the hosted solution; for instance, by
increasing the number of processors and the temporary storage; e.g.
Random Access Memory (RAM) is easy to facilitate and integrate
into the Cloud provider's services. Having BIM tools and processes
in the Cloud can facilitate the use of complicated BIM tools for data
analysis and reporting. The use of the Cloud for hosting BIM data
makes it easy for practitioners to synchronise all their data on more
than one device, enabling users to work on two PCs with different
computing capabilities.
• Effective use of data. The Cloud provider infrastructure will allow
BIM users to utilise powerful processing capabilities to carry out
complex analytical tasks. Moreover, addressing interoperability
issues can be a major advantage of Cloud. This is because Cloud
environments can host any type of data at any level. Moreover, a
Cloud-based BIM solution would allow multiple BIM practitioners
to work on the same BIM data versions.
• Positive environmental effects. Hosting data management
solutions on the Cloud will reduce the energy consumption gener-
ated by the construction company's IT infrastructure. Therefore,
Cloud computing technologies can effectively reduce the IT re-
sources held by construction companies.
Conversely, several disadvantages to using Cloud computing to
support a BIM governance solution were identified, as follows:
BIM experts' worries. BIM experts do not always trust Cloud
providers with the hosted data. This is not only because of Cloud
security, but also because of fears about who might access it. Moreover,
because the data is hosted in different, physically remote, places, clients
are concerned about their data security. BIM experts and clients are
cautious, as Cloud is a new technology that is currently developing.
When using Cloud-based BIM solution, team members need to
coordinate their activities; this is not yet an option provided by
Cloud-based BIM solutions. There should also be firm agreement to
update team members, with members of all disciplines updating their
models at an agreed time. There is also the problem of data access
rights, and limitations; in current Cloud storage solutions and BIM-
based solutions, users have basic data sharing permissions i.e. (create,
read, write, delete). There are further concerns related to data access
rights from the Cloud provider side.
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Journal of Building Engineering 10 (2017) 89–101
Security and privacy. The security of the hosted data in general
is a major concern, which can be subdivided into data security concerns
and cyber security concerns. Most BIM experts claim that using the
Cloud to host BIM data is unsafe and subject to hacking, because the
authentication component of the access to data is not good enough.
They also query what would happen if the physical location of the data
were destroyed by a natural disaster; i.e. all the hosted data would be
lost. Moreover, there is no evidence regarding where the data is
physically stored and backed up, or whether the provider has access
to these data. Thus, privacy concerns arise; e.g. what do Cloud
providers do with the hosted data, and who else can access it besides
the client.
Internet connection dependency. Cloud is a network-depen-
dent technology. Thus, access to the hosted data depends on the
availability of a connection; therefore, if the Internet connection is lost,
people will stop working. Additionally, certain variables can reduce
network speed; namely, lack of high-speed bandwidth, resulting in time
latency when updating the hosted data.
Lack of legal considerations. This drawback mainly relates to
the laws implemented in the datacentres’ countries. When BIM data is
hosted on datacentres located outside the users’ country, there are
major concerns surrounding the security of the data, especially in the
case of sensitive projects. For example, the US government can access
digital data stored in the country legally at any time. Therefore, hosting
data in datacentres located in the US might not be appropriate for
practitioners who are working the UK. This emphasises the legal
concerns regarding Cloud usage, and the fact that these have not been
adequately addressed, in relation to collaboration between global
teams.
Anonymous control. Many BIM experts have asked: Who
controls the Cloud? And, who is responsible for approving data in
the Cloud system? In a Cloud collaborative environment there must be
control over the hosted data via data management and control
mechanisms. If the data management process is not transparent then
control might be a problem not a solution. Moreover, there are
numerous coordination problems when working on the same files in
a Cloud environment. This highlights the importance of developing a
BIM governance model when using Cloud technologies to host and
manage BIM data.
Physical location of data storage concerns. There are many
concerns related to Cloud data storage technology itself; managing
large files can be very difficult, especially when more than one actor is
working on the same data file at the same time. Backup concerns also
arise due to physical datacentre crashes. The use of gigantic datacen-
tres, which are not that environmentally friendly, has negative envir-
onmental effects. Some questions that still need to be answered by
Cloud providers include: Who owns the storage place? Who owns the
data hub? Who controls the Cloud environment? Who owns the Cloud
environment? If these questions were answered satisfactorily, con-
struction practitioners would be more comfortable about using the
Cloud to host their data.
Initial set-up cost. Major financial questions arise when a
construction company wants to utilise a private Cloud solution; in
particular regarding who should pay for the initial cost of setting up the
system. Providing a model-as-you-go service would be a very effective
option for SMEs, in terms of reducing the cost of hardware and
infrastructure.
7. Discussion
BIM adoption in collaborative environment will still suffer form
barriers such as socio-organisational, financial, contractual, and tech-
nical issues [5,68,70,71]. However, adopting governance solutions that
are built based on theoretical BIM governance framework could helps
reducing such issues [6]. Issues raised during team collaboration due to
different interpretation of BIM technologies [3,6]. Such issues would
E. Alreshidi et al.
have negative effects on the collaborative environment affecting the
outcomes of a construction project [77]. BIM standards are considered
to be a suitable solution towards minimising team collaboration issues,
yet, there is huge effort to automate BIM standards and guidelines that
makes it easy to be adopted by team members [78].
The present study identified prerequisite factors for effective BIM
governance, leading to the development of the BIM governance
framework (G-BIM). The G-BIM comprises three main components:
“actors & team”, “data management & ICT”, and “processes &
contracts”, with sub factors for each. The G-BIM is valuable because
it shows effective factors of BIM governance within collaborative BIM
environments. The development of G-BIM framework had been done
based on views and experiences of BIM experts. Although, G-BIM
framework has been validated by interviewed BIM experts, more effort
will be made to further develop G-BIM framework to cover wider
components and factors based on real construction projects.
Achieving convenient governance practices should be underpinned
by ICT with specific focus on new and emerging technologies such as
Cloud computing [79]. Although there are many concerns surrounding
the use of Cloud, such as security, privacy, and Cloud service provider
ownership, there are major benefits too; e.g. accessibility, availability,
high performance capabilities and scalable storage [52]. Further, this
research set a foundation for future development of a Cloud-based
governance BIM solution. The development of such a solution should
done based on proper software engineering approach to technically
implement the cloud-based governance platform based on of BIM
experts’ requirements, as well as their collaborative environments,
practices and tools. Eventually, this will lead to developing a cloud-
based BIM governance platform that incorporate afford-mentioned
factors of G-BIM framework.
8. Conclusion
The construction industry is suffering from critical issues regarding
BIM adoption, and team collaboration. Although collaborative BIM
solutions have been developed, these have largely focused on the
technical dimensions, often without due consideration to socio-orga-
Appendix A. Semi-structured interview guide
Start of interview
• Provide a brief overview of the research topic project, taking care to avoid giving information that may prompt or influence the interviewee’s
responses.
• Tell the interviewee that there will be an opportunity to ask questions at the end of the interview.
• Introduce myself to the interviewee.
• Ask the interviewee to introduce him/herself.
1. Interviewee personal details
1.1. Name:
1.2. Gender:
1.3. Organisation:
1.4. City:
1.5. Qualifications:
1.6. Position:
1.7. Years of experience:
1.8. E-mail:
1.9. Date:
2. ICT and collaboration practices in the current construction projects (Project Managers – BIM Managers - Construction Practitioners
including Architects, Engineers, etc.)
2.1. Would you be kind enough to tell me about the context you have been engaged with BIM?
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Journal of Building Engineering 10 (2017) 89–101
nisational, process, and legal aspects. To address this limitation, BIM
experts have emphasised the importance of developing governance
solutions that can facilitate team collaboration, and enhance the
process of decision-making during a construction project.
Consultations with BIM experts for this study, in the form of semi-
structured interviews, identified many barriers to BIM adoption and
classified many issues associated with team collaboration during
construction projects. The outcomes from the consultation suggested
that achieving a fully integrated and collaborative BIM environment
would require governing the collaboration process and data flow,
underpinned by Cloud technologies. This can be achieved through
the automation of BIM-related standards, concealing the complexity of
these standards behind a user-friendly graphical interface.
Besides expanding on the body of knowledge regarding BIM
adoption, team collaboration, and ICT governance, this study con-
tributed toward the development of the G-BIM framework. The G-BIM
framework presented a summary of the effective factors ensuring
successful governance of a collaborative BIM approach. Moreover,
the research supports the future development of a Cloud-based G-BIM.
Although there are many concerns surrounding the use of Cloud, there
are major benefits too.
The theoretical BIM governance framework is very valuable since it
is forms the foundation of effective factors for adopting BIM govern-
ance solutions within collaborative BIM environments. Since it is on
early stages of development, the model has been validated by re-
meeting BIM experts where their critics and comments are incorpo-
rated in the final version of G-BIM framework. Yet, further socio-
technical validation are to be done under real construction projects.
This is a direction for future research, as the socio-technical develop-
ment will involve software engineering approach via Unified Modelling
Language (UML) and Business Process Modelling Notations (BPMN)
to model process of BIM experts’ requirements factoring in their
expectations of a cloud-based governance platform, as well as their
collaborative environments, practices and tools. Following the comple-
tion of the modelling stage, a cloud-based prototype will be developed,
stress-tested and validated based on real construction projects. These
efforts will be reported in a follow-up publication.
E. Alreshidi et al. Journal of Building Engineering 10 (2017) 89–101

2.2. Have you faced any collaboration issues when you collaborate with other team members on construction projects? (related to: data, people
or processes)
2.2.1. If yes, would you please briefly explain what they are and how you/your team solved them?
2.3. Could you please explain how the sharing/exchange of construction project’s data within team members is done?
2.3.1. Have you faced any technical problems when you share/exchange data?
2.4. Could you tell us which communication tools and software are used during a construction project for communicating with others? e.g.
(Email, Web conferences, etc.)
2.5. Could you tell us about the methods are being used for storing/sharing project data during a construction project?
2.5.1. Have you used shared storage before? If yes, would you share your experience with us?
2.6. In your organisation’s collaboration and storage system, are there any access controls to the stored data based on actors’ roles, rights or
responsibilities?
2.7. Are you familiar with any BIM related standards/protocols?
2.8. Do the existing standards promote collaboration and integration of BIM? e.g. COBie, BS 1192: 2007, and PAS1192-2 .etc.
2.8.1. If not, what do you think the solution would be?
2.9. Are there any management or governance policies for managing construction project data across supply-chain during a construction
project’s lifecycle?
3. BIM adoption barriers (Decision Makers – Contractors – Clients - BIM professionals – Project Managers – BIM Managers – Construction
Practitioners)
3.1. In your opinion, what are the barriers to BIM adoption in the UK construction industry? In terms of:
1. Socio-organisational aspects
2. Legal aspects
3. Technical aspects
4. Contractual aspects
3.2. Do you think the UK government should help the construction industry to embrace and widely use Information and Communication
Technologies (ICT) in BIM adoption?
3.3. Are there any potential concerns when team members share/exchange data with each other’s? For example :

• Contracts * Intellectual property

• BIM model ownership * Data inconsistency
• Privacy and security
3.3.1. Are there any other concerns?

4. Requirements of a BIM data governance model (Decision Makers – Contractors – Owners - BIM professionals – Construction
Practitioners)
4.1. In your opinion, what are the factors that might lead to a successful collaboration across supply-chain during a construction project’s
lifecycle?
4.2. Do you think there is a need to develop a BIM data governance model which facilitates collaboration across supply-chain during the
building lifecycle?
By BIM Governance I mean “The process of managing BIM data/document during the building lifecycle taken into account stakeholders’
rights and responsibilities over the managed BIM data/documents
But more formal BIM governance definition is ”the process of establishing a project information management policy across lifecycle and
supply chains underpinned by a building information model taking into account stakeholders’ rights and responsibilities over project data and
information” (Rezgui et al, 2013).
4.3. If yes, would you kindly tell us what you may require for such a model or a system?
4.4. In your opinion, what are the advantages and disadvantages of using distributed environments (cloud computing) as a sustainable storage
solution for hosting project data?
5. Current management practices and technical support for virtual construction projects (Technicians - Project managers - BIM
managers - Architects)
5.1. How do you setup the infrastructure for a virtual construction project?
5.2. How do you setup/configure the virtual environment for a construction project?
5.3. How do you manage (establish and maintain) the virtual environment of a construction project?
5.4. How do you manage people’s access rights to the stored documents within the virtual environment of a construction project?
5.5. What are the tools you use to manage the documents during the lifecycle of the virtual construction project?
5.6. Could you tell us what is the level of document management in your organisation? Is it managed at BIM document level or is it managed at
the objects/component level within the BIM document?
5.7. What is your procedure for ending the virtual environment of a construction project?
End of the interview
1. Ask the interviewee if they have any further information they would like to share.
2. Ask the interviewee if s/he has any questions and provide responses.
3. Ask the interview if s/he is willing to participate in a future work related to the development.
4. Thank the interviewee for their time and help.

98
E. Alreshidi et al. Journal of Building Engineering 10 (2017) 89–101

Appendix B. Semi-structured interview analysis themes

1. Current ICT and collaboration practices

(BIM expert name)

ICT and collaboration practice

Collaboration tools
Collaboration tools and access rights based on the actors’ roles and responsibilities
Role of UK Government towards ICT encouragement in BIM adoption

2. Collaboration issues during a construction project

(BIM expert name)

People related issues

Data related issues
Process related issues

3. BIM related standards

(BIM expert name)

BIM standards

4. Existing BIM governance and management polices

(BIM expert name)

Existing BIM governance and management polices

5. BIM adoption barriers

(BIM expert name)

Social-organisational barriers
Contractual barriers
Finical barriers
Technical barriers
Legal barriers

6. Successful collaboration factors during a construction project

(BIM expert name)

Successful collaboration factors during a construction project

7. The need for a BIM governance model

(BIM expert name)

The need for BIM governance model

99
E. Alreshidi et al. Journal of Building Engineering 10 (2017) 89–101

8. BIM governance model requirements

(BIM expert name)

BIM Governance Model Requirements

9. Role of cloud computing towards addressing data issues

(BIM expert name)

Advantages of using cloud computing Disadvantages of using cloud computing

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